GDC 08: The epic Street Fighter IV journalist tournament

1:42 PM on 02.22.2008   |   Nick Chester

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Despite Chun-Li's massive thighs of destruction, or Ryu's "why penis, why?" inducing crotch, Street Fighter IV is shaping up to be pretty impressive. While our very own Aaron Linde was busy prepping the written word, a few of us crammed into Capcom's private suit in the St. Regis hotel for an epic showdown -- the first American Street Fighter IV tournament! 

The journalist-only tournament went on for about two hours, and in a shocking turn of events, bizarre luck actually found me in the tournament's final rounds. But I wasn't disappointed with my inevitable loss; I knew there was no way I was going to be able to hang with crowd favorites Jared Rhea, Mike Jones, or Dan Boutros.

The tournament was a blast, with the crowd in attendance getting louder and more rowdy with each passing round. This may or may not have been directly related to the open bar; you make the call on that one. But by the time Jones and Boutros were going head-to-head in the final rounds, shrieks and screams erupted at the tiniest bit of movement.

The tournament official came to a head when Boutros took the win by a small margin, and then had the chance to battle the game's producer, Yoshinori Ono. Pro tip: You don't have to be great at the games you make, you just need to make great games. Ono-san graciously accepted defeat, and Boutros walked away with with a bizarre wrestling trophy, crowned the first US Street Fighter IV champion.

You should have been there, guys. It was totally epic.